Cloud x Tifa - Last Train to Brooklyn (Final Fantasy VII)

Chapter 3 - Between the Shadows and The Stars

Sundays had always been Tifa's favorite day of the week, because they were her days off, when she didn't have to work or worry about class or teaching at the dojo or even volunteering with AVALANCHE, when she didn't have to do anything except what she wanted to do, time that she could spend entirely to herself, locked away in her room if she wanted to be.

But now, even that had changed, if just a little bit.  Sundays were now her favorite day of the week for an entirely different reason.

Sundays were her favorite day because they had become her day with Cloud.

Ever since that first Sunday, when she'd brought him to the Strand and to Central Park and the Promenades, something cemented and became ritual between them.  The following week, Tifa showed Cloud around Williamsburg, where they bar hopped during the day and sampled cocktails at several chic, local lounges, their cheeks flushed by the time they stopped by the waterfront to admire a new skyview of the city.  The week after that, they went with Aerith and Zack to Ellis Island, visiting the Statue of Liberty and riding the ferry over the Hudson before sharing French pastries at Petrossian in Manhattan, their friends laughing and pawing at each other the entire time while Cloud and Tifa maintained a respectful, friendly distance, sharing and stealing quick glances and the occasional brush of warm skin.  Their friends had mostly ceased teasing, since they had all lost their bet by now, only awarding their carefully guarded behavior with rolls of their eyes or poorly concealed chuckles or occasionally snide remarks.

Sometimes, Cloud and Tifa wouldn't even go anywhere to spend the day together, content to spend their time on the phone, sometimes watching the same movie on the same channel while bantering through commentary with each other, sometimes sharing in the mundanities and highlights of their lives, Tifa always eager to share while Cloud was always eager to listen.  For Tifa, his ear on the other end of the line was a beam of support, especially as her final semester drew closer to its end and she knew that she would have to deal with her father's outrageous expectations soon.

This Sunday, though, Cloud had sent Tifa a text in the morning, asking her if she wanted to come over and watch The Wizard of Oz.   It would be the first time she'd ever been to his apartment, and she overthought the implications of it completely, wondering if it meant that he wanted something more from their friendship.

No, no.  He was inviting her over to watch a movie from their childhood, one that he remembered that she had wanted to see again.  It was a sweet thing to do, but it didn't mean that he felt anything more than what he'd made obvious.

It was a little disappointing, all of it had grown more disappointing as the days stretched into November, but Tifa pushed her thoughts about it away.  Her friendship with Cloud was important to her, sacred even, and she really didn't have time for another relationship right now, with her graduation approaching and the prospect of being forced into a job with Shinra Capitol while dealing with her father's stranglehold over her life.

She dressed simply and comfortably, slate-gray yoga pants with a plush, matching zip-up hoodie, piling her hair into a sloppy bun on the top of her head before pulling her sneakers on.  As she was gathering her coat by the foyer, Aerith appeared in the hallway, holding an armful of folders.

"Going out?" she asked, eyeing her up and down.

"Just to Cloud's," Tifa replied, not bothering to look up, not wanting her eyes or her cheeks to betray her under Aerith's knowing stare.  She hastily buttoned her peacoat.  "Just to watch a movie for a couple of hours."

"Is it a sleepover?" Aerith asked with a laugh in her voice, eyeing the soft knit fabric of Tifa's yoga gear.

Tifa pointedly ignored her, slinging her purse over her shoulder.  "And you?  I'm surprised to see you staying in today."